Garment bag

ABSTRACT

The application discloses a garment bag of conventional construction except that it is provided with an interior access affording front panel which is unsecured to the top closure member of the bag. A gripper arrangement provides such access. A stiffener is provided to under-lie the top portion of the front panel to maintain the bag dust-free and in good appearance. Preferably a dust cover is also provided which is sewn into the top closure of the bag and over-lies the top portion of the front panel. The stiffener and cover serve to maintain the appearance of the bag with the zipper either closed or partially or fully opened.

1 1 July 17, 1973 1 1 GARMENT BAG [75] Inventors: Ira N. Brophy, NewYork, N.Y.;

Donald Felsenthal, Memphis, Tenn.

[73] Assignee: Whitmor Manufacturing Co., Inc., New York, NY.

[22] Filed: Oct. 15, 197] [21] Appl. No.: 189,792

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 889,037, Dec.30, 1969,

abandoned.

[52] US. Cl. 206/7 K [51] Int. Cl B65d 85/18 [581 Field of Search....190/41 Z, 43;

206/7 R, 7 K, 7 H; 211/180, 223/85; 312/3, 6

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,018,351 10/1952 France 312/6 1,088,1399/1955 France 206/7 X 1,113,655 12/1955 France 312/3 PrimaryExaminer-Herbert F. Ross Assistant Examiner--Stcven E. LipmanAttorney-Horst 8L Borst [57] ABSTRACT The application discloses agarment bag of conventional construction except that it is provided withan interior access affording front panel which is unsecured to the topclosure member of the bag. A gripper arrangement provides such access. Astiffener is provided to under-lie the top portion of the front panel tomaintain the bag dust-free and in good appearance. Preferably a dustcover is also provided which is sewn into the top closure of the bag andover-lies the top portion of the front panel. The stiffener and coverserve to maintain the appearance of the bag with the zipper eitherclosed or partially or fully opened.

1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures Patented July 17, 1973 Z 9 m w (a m MM EUIR00 V08 T W115 @T N M a w mr GARMENT BAG This is a continuation, ofapplication Ser. No. 889037 filed l2/30/69, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to closet accessories and in particular togarment bags adapted to store dresses and the like protected from dust,lint and to some extent moisture that suffuses the usual closetatmosphere.

When a garment bag has a closure zipper located, for example, in themiddle of its front panel and extending the vertical length of the bag,or substantially such length, loading the bag will ordinarily requireone hand to place the garment within the bag while the other hand holdsapart the two panels on either side of the zipper. According to thepresent construction the half panels are unsecured at the top of the bagso that it is unnecessary to hold the panels open in this manner. Accessto the interior of the bag is thus facilitated. Additionally astifi'ener is provided under-lying the top portion of the two halfpanels which serves to provide stability to the top portion of the bagand, in combination with a dust cover over-lying the panels, maintainsthe front panels of the bag upright whether or not the zipper is closed,thereby preserving its appearance.

One object of the invention is to provide a garment bag having easyaccess and a presentable appearance in both open and closed conditions.

There is presented below a more detailed description of one embodimentof the invention which is taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the garment bag in partially opencondition;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bag opened to permit access to itsinterior while the front panels maintain their closed position; and

FIG. 3 is in section taken on line 33 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings the garment bag constructed according to. theinventive concept is shown suspended from a hanger bar adapted to besupported within a domestic closet. The bag has side portions 4 and 5,back panel 6 and top and bottom closures 7 and 8, respectively. The topclosure is supported on the usual metal frame 9.

The front panel 10 consists of two half panels 10a and 10b which may beconnected together by zipper 12. The front panels are secured to thefront edges of sides 4, and 5, and to the front edge of bottom closure 8but not to the top closure 7.

As shown in FIG. 3, a stiffener 14 is shown as sewn to the top 7 and todust cover 15 on stitch line 16 thereby affording additional stabilityto the panel and closure members. The stiffener 14 and cover 15 extendthe entire width of the panel 10 embracing the top portion of the frontpanels and serve to hold the panels upright when their connecting zipperis open and while garments are being inserted in the bag. The stiffenerand cover also prevent the front panel from flopping inwardly oroutwardly when the bag is closed. Hence the bag remains dust-free in itsnormally closed condition, as is true of bags of more conventionalconstruction, as well as in open condition since the panels aresandwiched between the two members and held together in a plane evenwith the zipper in down position. At the same time the stiffener andcover do not interfere with access to the interior when the bag isopened for that purpose. I

What is claimed is:

1. A garment bag having a top frame, a top closure on said frame and abottom closure, front, rear and side panels, said front panel comprisingtwo sections adapted to be joined together in the middle of said panelby a zipper and being secured solely to the bottom closure and sidepanels whereby the front panel is free or unsecured along its top edge,a stiffener being provided at the top, front edge of the bag underlyingthe top portion of the front panel and a dust cover overlying said topportion of the front panel, the meeting edges of said closure, stiffenerand dust cover, being stitched together.

1. A garment bag having a top frame, a top closure on said frame and abottom closure, front, rear and side panels, said front panel comprisingtwo sections adapted to be joined together in the middle of said panelby a zipper and being secured solely to the bottom closure and sidepanels whereby the front panel is free or unsecured along its top edge,a stiffener being provided at the top, front edge of the bag underlyingthe top portion of the front panel and a dust cover overlying said topportion of the front panel, the meeting edges of said closure, stiffenerand dust cover being stitched together.